The Song Remains The Same
by Jlargent
Summary: After an unexpected tragedy at Sweet Apple Acres, Applebloom is left without those that she calls family. Vinyl Scratch a long time friend to the Apple Family steps in to help raise the filly and hopefully help her recover. Pairings for this AB/Scootaloo and VS/OM. T to possibly M depending on how it unfolds.
1. Loss

**The Song Remains The Same.**

**Chapter 1: Loss…**

_Me: New story here! I know that I'm going to get flamed for this but I must write this. I do not own MLP in any shape or form typical disclaimers apply._

Vinyl's POV

I groggily climb out of bed my mind feeling like it's been replaced with cotton stuffing, vague memories of the night before float in my head as I make my way into the bathroom, my hooves stumbling slightly from the hangover. I turn on the shower head and with a slight flinch the cold water hits me, I was in no shape to use my magic until the continual bass dropping in my head ceases so I reach out with my hoof and grab a nearby bottle of shampoo and start work on my mane.

Twenty minutes later…

I step out of the shower a bit more clear headed than before, I open the bathroom door and exit with my towel draped over my shoulder and I make my way to the kitchen. My apartment in Fillydelphia isn't exactly located in the cleanest part of town but it's better than nothing, not to say I'm not exactly the most well-kept pony in terms of housecleaning, I open the fridge and spot some apple pie and immediately memories of staying on the Apple Family farm hits me.

Nopony knows this but my closest friends and but I was a runaway orphan, I never knew who my mom or dad was I was just left on the doorstep of an orphanage in Baltimare. Growing up in that place was harder than it seemed most of the time but when I was seven I managed to escape and I hitchhiked my way to Ponyville, I chuckle to myself remembering the night I snuck into the Apple Family farm just to filch a few apples.

_Flashback: Sixteen Years Ago…_

I remember sneaking into the orchard as quietly as I can possibly be, and then I spot the perfect apple; it was round, red and juicy dangling there like a forbidden fruit just begging to be taken and eaten. I concentrate hard forcing my magic to come into play, for a moment the apple was enveloped in a light cobalt blue magical aura. I silently cheer to myself for the upcoming feast I would soon be having…

Or I would have, when all of a sudden I hear a deep growl, swallowing a squeak I slowly turned my head to see what I later learned was a Timberwolf I started to run screaming for help and to be honest it was pretty much a blur, I knew I was running for my life and eventually I found myself cornered, I whirled around to see the Timberwolf slowly approach me as though it knew I had no chance. I shut my eyes tightly and waited for the end, when all of a sudden a red blur shoots out and slams into the wooden wolf with enough force to send it into a nearby tree but the force wasn't strong enough to shatter it, I open my eyes to see a colt that was possibly a couple of years older than I was staring at where the wolf hit the tree.

With a grunt he speeds towards it and with an agility unbecoming of him he swerves around and slams his rear hooves into the wolf making it howl in pain, the wolf regains its bearings and the colt stares at the walking lumberyard with the promise of pain and agony if it were to continue, with a pitiful whine the wolf bolts off into the forest. The last thing I remember is collapsing right there and then exhausted from the adrenalin and fear cocktail.

_End Flashback_

I woke up to see that I was in a room and the same colt from earlier and that's when an elderly pony by the name of Granny Smith entered and offered me some food, and as they say the rest is history. After a few days at the farm I felt comfortable enough to tell them the truth, I explained that I ran away from Baltimare because I couldn't take it anymore in the orphanage there. I literally fell out of my chair when Granny Smith, the colt who I learned was her grandson Big Macintosh was actually the same age I was he had recently hit a growth spurt, I later met my younger sister and little Applebloom. I smiled at the memory.

A knock at the door brings me out of my reminiscing, I shut the refrigerator door and walk over to the door and open it to see a mail carrier.

"Excuse me ma'am I have a letter for a Miss Vinyl Scratch?" he says.

"I'm her." I reply.

"I have a priority letter for you." He says and pulls out a clipboard from his mail bag "Sign here please." He spoke I quickly sign it and he gives me the letter, he tips his hat and wishes me a pleasant day. With a sigh I open the letter, knowing my luck it was a court appearance for something I may or may not have done, after reading the first few lines my breathing became heavier and my legs were shaking I barely manage to get to a nearby couch before collapsing. I reread the letter again as if the words themselves were an illusion.

_Dear Ms. Scratch_

_I regret to inform you that your relatives Applejack, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith passed away yesterday evening. As per Granny Smith's instruction you were to be informed of this, the last will and testament to Granny Smith is to be read the day after tomorrow in Ponyville, failure to arrive means to forfeit any and all inheritance._

_The will is to be read at my office at 11:30 A.M. _

_Signed, Legal Ease._

I sat there in stunned silence not believing that the only family I've ever had was gone, I keep looking over the letter trying to dispel the horrible truth when I noticed that Applebloom's name wasn't among those that were dead, my hangover suddenly gone I head into my bedroom and start packing for my trip to Ponyville.

_To be continued…_

_Me: Yeah you read it right a fic where Applebloom gets adopted. I decided to try my hand at a story that breaks the normal fic where Scootaloo gets adopted and instead have Applebloom take a tragedy such as losing one's family and becoming stronger due to having ponies that loves her as much as her original family. This story is going to be my "Summer Project" if you will; I'm going to focus on this story until late September so I hope you enjoy this story. _

_Next Time: Adjusting to a new situation. And Wills._

_As always Hoody Hoo!_


	2. Testament

**The Song Remains The Same.**

**Chapter 2: Testament.**

**Written by Jlargent.**

_Me: Sweet Celestia the likes! Thank you for your continued support. I do not own MLP or any of its characters typical disclaimers apply._

"Miss? Miss? We've arrived in Ponyville." A voice spoke waking me up from my nap, I groggily shake my head to clear the cobwebs out. I slide out of my seat and use my magic to summon my bag which has a few items like a formal set of clothes for whenever I was sent to court for a hearing but this time I'm using it for a will reading. The pain of losing my adoptive family was numb at the moment; I told myself that I would break down to cry later after I had things settled down a little bit.

I exit the train and there standing on the platform is a brownish red earth pony with graying black mane and tail wearing an expensive green jacket and tie his cutie mark is that of scales indicating his skills in the law.

He spots me "Are you Miss Vinyl Scratch-Apple?" he asks me. I nod he extends his hoof towards me "I am Legal Ease the Apple Family lawyer, I wish that we could've met under better circumstances. I would also like to extend my condolences to your loss." He spoke sincerely.

I shake his hoof "Thank you. Can you please tell me what happened?" I ask him.

"Well Applebloom was staying at a friend's house when the incident occurred, apparently the gas line was leaking and I can only assume that either Applejack or Granny Smith were unaware of this and you can imagine what happened next. The resulting explosion was loud enough to get everyone's attention. As you can imagine everypony in town is affected by this." he explained.

"How's Applebloom taking all this?" I asked him worried about my little sister.

"She's devastated; I would imagine I would as well if I lost a family member, for the moment she's staying with Princess Twilight until a more permanent arrangement can be made. Perhaps we should continue this in my office." He suggested.

The walk through town was sobering; I could see how losing AJ meant to everyone, before I realized it we were standing in front of his office, Legal opens the door and politely leaves the door open so I could enter first. My first impression of his office is that of a typical lawyer, a few plants some bookcases with heavy tomes of laws and a heavy oak desk. There was a knock at the door and an earth pony mare with charcoal black mane and tail expertly groomed, her pink bowtie was immaculate and her smoky grey coat was brushed to perfection, and for a brief second I forgot how to breathe, she was beauty personified.

The mare spoke to Legal in a Trottingham accent "Ah uncle, here are the papers you requested from the mayor's office." She spoke handing a small stack of papers to him.

"Thank you Octavia. Ah, Vinyl this is my youngest niece Octavia Melody. Octavia, this is Vinyl Scratch-Apple I would like for you to escort her to the nearest hotel once I'm finished with my business with her." He said pulling out a few papers from his desk.

"Yes sir." She said leaving the room.

Legal sighs slightly "You'll have to excuse Octavia; she's a bit of a workaholic. I was hoping that spending time with her could help her get a bit more of an social outlet outside of her compatriots." He says.

"Really? What does Octavia do for a living?" I ask him genuinely curious about the mare.

"She's a cellist for the Royal Canterlot Symphony; she's actually the youngest member of the group. Right now it's the off season for the Symphony, normally she would spend a majority of her time writing new music and practicing her cello but I haven't seen her in months. So I offered to have her stay here with me until the new season starts for them." He explains "But enough about my family, the official will reading will be tomorrow morning at eleven o'clock and is expected to be at least an hour long, there will be others attending the reading as well." He spoke.

"Who else is attending the reading?" I ask him.

He looks over the list of attendees "Well aside from Applebloom and her closest friends Filthy Rich and his daughter Diamond Tiara is also attending." He says.

I stand up "Thank you for taking care of my family's legal affairs." I thank him.

Legal smile sadly "It was because of Applejack that I pursued my love of law by being honest with me. Your sister was truly one of a kind, you have my sincerest condolences." He spoke.

I thanked him and stepped outside to see Octavia standing there waiting for me. She nods at me and motions for me to follow her, about halfway towards a nearby hotel Octavia spoke "I'm sorry for your loss Miss Scratch; I can only imagine how you are feeling at this moment."

I shake my head "Please call me Vinyl, I'm not all that info formalities." I spoke to her, ever since I first laid eyes on her I can't get her out of my mind "Um, listen I was wondering if the next time you had a day off you and I could hang out? I haven't been here in a while and you're the first pony here that I think could be friends with." I said.

Octavia gives me a blank look before answering "I must respectfully decline your generous offer. I am simply too busy to socialize with anypony." She said gently as to not hurt my feelings.

I waved her off "That's cool, I can imagine that you're busy, maybe some other time." I replied nonchalantly trying to hide the disappointment in my voice "Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow at the reading." I said thanking Octavia for escorting me to the hotel; Octavia gives a slight glance at me before leaving. I enter the hotel and checked in; afterwards I head to my room and deposit my bag before leaving the hotel. I needed to see my little sis.

Finding where Princess Sparkle lives was frighteningly easy considering that the location was the shiny new castle in the shape of a tree. I've heard rumors that the castle literally sprung up after the battle against Tirek, looking at it up close I can actually believe it after all magic is unpredictable at times, doubly so for the chaos entity Discord. I nervously walk up to the castle gates and noticed a rope pulley; I use my magic to tug at it and I could hear a bell sounding from inside the castle, I wait a moment and just before I decided to ring the bell again a voice spoke.

"Yes, what can I do for you?" I look around to see a young dragon staring at me from a nearby window.

"I was told that Applebloom was staying here." I said.

"Yeah why?" he asks me suspiciously.

"Can you tell her that Vinyl is here?" I ask him. He heads back inside to relay the message, after a few minutes the gates open to reveal a teary-eyed Applebloom, she runs up to me and nearly knocks me down before sobbing in my chest. I stroke her back and whisper that everything will be alright "It'll be okay little bloom." I tell her, as my own tears stain her coat.

The next day…

I arrive at Legal Ease's office dressed in a simple black business suit and have my traditional spiky mane styled in a bun, I move around in it uncomfortably seeing as I don't remember the last time I've actually worn this suit, the material of the fabric was itching something fierce and I couldn't wait to get out of this suit after this. I open the door to his office to see Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends a brownish tan stallion with a slicked back black mane and tail I assume that this is "Filthy Rich." That is also to be attending the reading and I could see a light pink filly with a tiara on her head that must be his daughter Diamond Tiara, I could see Applebloom here as well.

Legal and Octavia enter the office, the former carrying a briefcase, he sits in his chair and motions for us to sit down and pulls out a pair of half-moon glasses and opening the briefcase to pull out a folder "I thank all of you for attending this reading of the last will and testament of Applejack, this will was made in the event that if something were to happen to her that her final wishes were to be carried out."

_My dear friends._

_Well it seems that I finally bit the big one, I'm not much into all that fancy smancy frou frou stuff so I'll get right down to the nitty gritty._

_To Twilight Sparkle, I leave my books on Earth Pony farming that my pa gave me when I was a filly._

_To Fluttershy, I leave the Fruit bat section of the Apple Family Farm in your care._

_To Rarity, I have saved up 2000 bits. This is yours on the condition that you use this for Sweetie Belle's education._

_To Pinkie Pie, I leave you with the recipe to my families Zap Apple Jam and the Zap Apple Trees. It's only right that you'd take care of these until Applebloom is old enough to run the farm._

_To Rainbow Dash, I leave you with three barrels of Apple Family Cider on the condition that you share this with the other girls and drink to our memory._

_To Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara, I leave Sweet Apple Acres in your care until Applebloom is old enough to inherit it, I also have one extra proviso to your daughter Diamond Tiara; you cease any and all bullying to Applebloom and her friends, failure to do so will result in losing Sweet Apple Acres and ownership will go to Pinkie Pie._

_To Vinyl Scratch-Apple, I wish things could've turned out better; I leave Applebloom in your custody. Please take good care of her._

_To my sister Applebloom, I leave you with pa's hat that he won for me at the county fair when I was a filly; I'm also leaving you with the Crusaders Treehouse. When you turn eighteen I leave Sweet Apple Acres in your care if you choose to do so. _

_Now that that's out of the way, I'll see you when the time comes. _

_With my best regards Applejack._

With that he places the document inside the briefcase and removes his glasses "Now are there any problems with the arrangement that Applejack has left you with?" he asks the attendees.

Filthy Rich raised his hoof "I'm afraid that I cannot properly care for Sweet Apple Acres, seeing as I am primarily working at my store, therefore I suggest that I should leave Sweet Apple Acres in Vinyl Scratch's care seeing as I feel it appropriate that an Apple take care of the farm." He suggested.

Legal turns to me "Is there any problem with this arrangement?" he asks me.

I shake my head "No, I don't have a problem with this. I really didn't want to take Applebloom away from her home here in Ponyville, I'll just talk to my manager and make a few adjustments on living arrangements until I settle in." I said.

Legal nods "Then this concludes the will reading of Applejack Apple." He said before leaving the office.

I introduce myself to Applejack's friends even though I'm familiar with Pinkie Pie having worked with her on occasion, they offer their condolences and Twilight offers me to stay at the palace until a new house is built at Sweet Apple acres to replace the one that was destroyed in the explosion, I smiled and accepted the offer seeing as I have no place to stay until then.

?POV

"We failed to ensure that the youngest Apple was killed in the explosion." A voice spoke.

"We have time to rectify that seeing as she's too traumatized to do much of anything at the moment." A second voice spoke.

"Agreed, but we should be cautious, if we were to show up in Ponyville now it would make things harder." The first voice spoke.

"We should bide our time, gain a bit of capital and return in due time." The second voice suggested.

"Yes, but until then there is money to be made." The first voice agreed and two figures head off into the forest.

_To be continued…_

_Me: How's THAT for a twist? I'll reveal the culprits in due time but until then enjoy the fluffy goodness. Next Time: Time marches on._

_As Always Hoody Hoo!_


End file.
